The Persistence of Memory: Mnevermind Trilogy, Book 1

While forgetting your problems won't solve them, it does seem like it would make life a heck of a lot easier. Daniel thought so once. Now he knows better. He and Big Dan have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like his father remembers.

Drawn Together

Rory's just a simple southern boy from St. Antoine's Parish, Louisiana, but he knows what he wants - the girl of his dreams, reclusive and mysterious artist Ran Yamane. He's loved her since junior high school, and now he has the chance to meet her. He chucks everything and travels 1,500 miles to Anime Expo in Long Beach just so he can tell her. He's determined that nothing and nobody are going to stand in his way. Turns out, Ran Yamane isn't a girl, but he gets that a lot.

New Worlds

Kenny arrives home early from work and finds Chris, his partner of three years, in bed with a young escort. Kenny quickly packs and leaves everything behind, heading for God only knows where. En route to Marseilles, he briefly hooks up with Jean, a French truck driver. After a week or so in the seaside resort of St. Cyr sur Mer, contemplating the past and beginning to relish the freedom to do what he wants with his life, Kenny decides to head to Barcelona.

Daniel's Garden

Daniel, an author, employs a new gardener, Sam, a sad and lonely character who has suffered a few knocks on the journey of life. The discovery of knotweed in Daniel's garden leads to an invitation for Sam to stay for several extra days to remove the offending plant. Sparks fly between the two men and more gets plowed than just the garden.

Unwrapping Hank

Sloane loves a good mystery. He grew up as the son of two psychiatrists, so he finds most people tediously easy to figure out. He finds his way to Pennsylvania State University, longing for a rural experience, and ends up being lured into joining a frat by Micah Springfield, the hippest guy on campus.

What Happens at Christmas

Justin is recently and unhappily single. Christmas is coming, and he doesn't want to face his ex alone at their office party. So Sean volunteers to go with him and pretend to be his new flame. Sean has always lusted after Justin from afar, but there's never been a good opportunity to ask him for more than friendship. Posing as Justin's boyfriend isn't a chore, and if Justin wants to rebound onto him, Sean's more than willing. At the party pretense and reality blur, and a kiss on the dance floor leads to a night of passion.

The Heart of Texas: Texas Series, Book 1

Riley Hayes, the playboy of the Hayes family, is a young man who seems to have it all: money, a career he loves, and his pick of beautiful women. His father, CEO of HayesOil, passes control of the corporation to his two sons; but a stipulation is attached to Riley's portion. Concerned about Riley's lack of maturity, his father requires that Riley 'marry and stay married for one year to someone he loves'. Angered by the requirement, Riley seeks a means of bypassing his father's stipulation.

The Downs

As the son of a wealthy man, Enitan Javed has spent his life frivolously - drinking, fighting, and making love. But after his father dies, Enitan is unjustly accused of murdering him and is given the harshest sentence possible. Judged irredeemable, he is banished to the Downs. As even young children know, nothing lives in the Downs except demons who delight in torturing the condemned. Brutalized by the men who transport him to his fate, Enitan has nothing left but his thirst for vengeance.

Mad Lizard Mambo: The Kai Gracen Series, Book 2

Licensed Stalkers make their living hunting down monsters and dangerous criminals, and their lives are usually brief, brutal, and thankless. Despite being elfin and cursed with a nearly immortal lifespan, Kai didn't expect to be any different. Then Ryder, the High Lord of the Southern Rise Court, arrived in San Diego, and Kai's not-so-mundane life went from mild mayhem to full-throttle chaos.

Guarded

A brutal war left Volos Perun with physical and emotional scars and with a reputation as a hero. Now he's a soldier stationed at the palace, desiring Prince Berhanu while receiving only loathing in return. But when Berhanu foolishly refuses the king's request to let Volos accompany him on a peace mission to the neighboring country, Berhanu is kidnapped and brutalized. Now Volos must risk his life as he works to save Berhanu and help his country avoid another devastating war.

Getting Off the Ground: Changing Plans, Book 1

After being stood up at the altar, compulsive overplanner Elliott Chandler decides to turn the honeymoon on Oahu into a vacation for one. Fate puts a hitch in his plans, however, when the airport is snowed in and his flight is delayed. In the airport the jilted groom catches the eye of another stranded traveler: the laidback and very sexy Derek Windsor. Derek breaks the ice and strikes up a conversation, and as the temperature drops outside, the heat between them rises.

How I Met Your Father

Former boy band member Justin Hayes isn't looking for a man. He just wants a quiet, scandal-free Christmas at home in Chicago, out of the public eye. But his best friend and bandmate is subjecting everyone to his destination wedding, and Justin can't dodge the "best man" bullet. All he has to do is get to the island on time, survive the reunion, and get Chuck to the altar with as little drama as possible. What could possibly go wrong?

A Fortunate Blizzard

Artist Trevor Morrison has always appreciated the little things in life, treating each day as a gift. And with good reason; he's been on the transplant-recipient list for too long now. When he learns just how numbered his days truly are, he resolves not to take them for granted. But he won't be unrealistic, either - which means romantic commitments are off the table.

Baby, It's Cold

Talk about kitchen nightmares! TV chef Rocky and foodie blogger Jesse have been pals forever, so it should have been the most natural thing in the world to kick their relationship up a notch. Instead, it turned out to be a disaster. But Christmas is the season of love, and someone's cooking up a sweet surprise....

Wolfsong

Ox was 23 when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his blood red eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces. It's been three years since that fateful day and the boy is back. Except now he's a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts

Julian "Quinn" Quintero, a gruff, tough Miami SWAT officer, has been injured on the job, and all he's looking for is a little peace and quiet to recover - difficult to achieve with his large Cuban family. An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn's life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it's chaos at first sight.

Chevalier

Fireman Mason James thought finding out he is a Romanus - a rare class of gargoyle - would be the surprise of a lifetime, but he's proven wrong when he discovers he is the son of a comte and goji nobility. But his newly discovered family doesn't think his gargoyle lover, Luc, is good enough for a goji of Mason's stature - how could a warrior ever be? But despite the Moreaus' uncertainty and elitism, they are Mason's only chance to unravel the mystery behind his mother's death.

The Lion and the Crow

Sir Christian Brandon was raised in a household where he was hated for his unusual beauty and for his parentage. Being smaller than his six brutish half-brothers, he learned to survive by using his wits and his gift for strategy, earning him the nickname the Crow.

Sweet Young Thang: Theta Alpha Gamma, Book 3

Thanks to Collin Montes, Theta Alpha Gamma now welcomes gay and bisexual students. Persuading his Uncle Monty, president of the TAG Alumni Association, that the open approach won't adversely affect TAG's reputation is Collin's own first step toward coming out. As long as there are no repercussions, he'll escape the closet by graduation.

Desert Tryst: 1Night Stand

The cat-and-mouse game between professional assassin Dmitri Dzerzhinsky and FBI Special Agent Thomas Dalton may be developing into something more, at least for Dmitri. Blurring which side Dmitri's on can't continue. Hoping to get rid of his desire for Thomas, Dmitri goes to 1Night Stand for help.

So into You: The PI Guys, Book 2

Screenwriter Noah Ashley has a few four-letter words for his agent when she suggests he improve his script by shadowing a PI. Still, because he's an artist dedicated to his craft and she knows where the bodies are buried, he agrees. Then he spends a little time with the gorgeous PI, and suddenly it seems like a really good plan. The PI doesn't seem to entirely love the idea, but Noah has never been afraid to go after what he wants.

All of Me

To bond with his destined mate, an Alpha wolf must look past what he sees and trust what he feels. Bonded by their parents before they were conceived, wolf shifters Abel and Kai adored each other since they were children. As teens, the two future Alphas took the next step in their bonding process and vowed to remain true to one another until Kai came of age. But when tragedy struck, Abel felt betrayed and ran from Kai instead of completing their mating.

Counterpoint: Song of the Fallen, Book 1

Ayden's life has long been guided by two emotions: love for his sister, and hatred of all things human. When he's captured in battle, he is enslaved in the service of a human prince, Freyrik Farr. Freyrik's always known elves to be beautiful and dangerous, but never has one affected him as deeply as Ayden. Teetering on a dagger's edge between duty and high treason, Freyrik discovers that some choices can change a life, and some an entire world.

Stardust

Duncan is an ocean from home over the holidays and expects to spend them alone. To his pleasant surprise, one of his European co-workers, Georg, befriends him and includes Duncan in the holiday traditions of his homeland: cutting a Christmas tree under starry skies at Georg's country estate, decorating it at the family's city home, and shopping at the Christmas market in Munich. Both men are lonely and realize they have much in common. But Georg's life is in Germany and Duncan's is in Boston.

Publisher's Summary

Sam is gay, lonely, and depressed and lives next door to closed-book Steve, a practical, godlike motorcycle mechanic. Sam harbors a dream of a happy ever after that is so far removed from reality it is painful. Things take a decided turn for the worst when Steve announces that he is emigrating to Canada. The separation, loneliness, and depression are just about enough to finish poor Sam off.

An invitation to visit Steve after a year of excruciating longing gives Sam a glimmer of hope. But dare he risk all and admit to his feelings and end up with nothing?All or Nothing is a short romantic story written in two parts. Part one was originally published in eBook format in 2013 as Pain & Suffering and appeared in Liberty Short Vol. 2.

Short stories are often the hardest things to write, as well as to review. The author only has a short time to accomplish what they want to accomplish. Usually either the plot or the character gets sacrificed for the other. With All or Nothing I’m not really sure what the main point was.

Sam is a lonely man with a crush on his neighbor, Steve, and says nothing about it for a very, very long time. The only thing that really happens in the story is Sam pining after his neighbor, as well as jack off thinking about Steve.

Then, after so much time of hiding his feelings, Sam visits Steve in Canada, both men admit their feelings and they get their HEA. It was a tad Insta-love-ish for me and I would’ve like to have seen more of them together before they confess their love.

Regardless of what I thought about the plot and Sam’s wishy washy attitude, I did like the character. He was realistic and a genuinely nice person. Since it was written in Sam’s POV, Steve is seen very little and is somewhat of an enigma. I never really got why Sam liked him, other than from a physical stand point.

The writing is strong here and I will have to check out other stuff by the author.

Narration Review:

Stewart Campbell nailed Steve’s voice here. However, there were so few other characters it was hard to see what kind of talent the narrator possessed. I echo my statement about the author and will look for more books narrated by Campbell.